A few of my favorite things...

So I'm starting another round of blogging.  This time I am just going to use it as an adventure blog.  Anything I do that is mildly exciting, I'll try to upload the pictures and write about them here.  This will serve two purposes: It will give me an opportunity to blog again and it will give me a reason to photo document our adventures instead of just clogging up hard drive space.

To start, I've decided to share some pictures of my most recent adventures to share as a beginning to this project (aka, I don't feel like waiting to start after my next adventure).

This is a picture taken from my first backpacking trip from Greenwood Furnace State Park to Bear Meadows Road.  Bethany (my wife), Tommy and I made a few critical errors on this hike which we'll never forget.  We took luxury items.  We camped on a steep, rocky slope because we thought, surely we'll come across another good site before we need to set up.  We didn't bring immodium.  The list could go on, but regardless, it was a great first backpacking trip.

This was my second backpacking trip.  Bethany and I hiked from Penns Roosevelt  State Park to Alan Seeger Natural Area and back.  Delilah joined us which was exciting because it was her first overnight backpacking trip and she did it like a champ.  She learned to swim, never gave up and slept under the stars without any hassle.  She's a beast dog.

These next two photos are from the BFT Tiadaghton State Forest.  This was by far the most beautiful backpacking trip I've ever been on.  There was a look out almost every mile and the gorge where these two pictures were taken was phenomenal.  Like it said, it was literally one of the most beautiful things I've ever experienced.  The endless rolling of the Appalachian Mountains and the lush green canopy and under growth provided cool on a very hot day.


I found out later in Backpacker magazine that part of the BFT (which we only hiked about 12 miles of a 30 mile loop) is one of the hardest hikes in PA.  Bethany, Liz and I enjoyed a hard earned dinner at a local restaurant immediately following this hike.


I would love to get back up there in the fall to see the gorge while the leaves are changing.  I'd also like to take our kayaks up there in the Spring while Pine Creek is still high.  Perhaps the future will hold something like that for us.

In early June, Bethany and I traveled to Chicago for a family wedding and on the way we stopped at the Cleveland Zoo.  In the butterfly house, this particular butterfly must have found me to be a sexilicious human because she (I hope) wouldn't stop landing on me and doing a little dance on my finger, shoulder and ultimately, my face.  It was quite an experience.  I'm not sure I've ever loved a zoo as much as this zoo.